2 Corinthians 11:16-33  Click here for Bible Verses

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Corinthians 11:16-33.  Let’s go!

2 Corinthians 11:16-33 (NIV)
16  I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then receive me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting.
17  In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool.
18  Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast.
19  You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise!
20  In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or pushes himself forward or slaps you in the face.
21  To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that! What anyone else dares to boast about–I am speaking as a fool–I also dare to boast about.
22  Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I.
23  Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.
24  Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.
25  Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea,
26  I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers.
27  I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.
28  Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.
29  Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?
30  If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.
31  The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying.
32  In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me.
33  But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.

On verses 16-33:  In 2 Corinthians 11:16-33, Paul imitates the “super apostles”, boasting of his sufferings – how he has sacrificed himself and risked his life so many times in so many ways for the sake of his churches and for the sake of the gospel.  Paul boasts this way even though he clearly does not want to and feels totally out of his comfort zone doing so (see verses 17 and 23).  But he does it in a desperate attempt to show his church that he truly does love God and loves them.  It’s not easy to be a shepherd.  It reminds me of what Jesus says in John 10:11: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for suffering so much on our behalf because You loved us. Thank You also for placing shepherds like Paul who followed in Your example, giving their lives for Your people.   Thank You for placing shepherds in my own life who have followed in Your example too, sacrificing, giving and suffering so much so that I could know You and have a relationship with You.  Thank You for every shepherd who has tried to follow in Your footsteps so that the church and the gospel could advance in our world.  We don’t take Your suffering or their suffering for granted today.  In Jesus’ name I pray, AMEN!